Packing and the like.



E. J. SWEETLAND.

PAC K l N G A N D T H E L I K E.

Ill,-

IIIIII IIIIIIII ldifferent manner. Fig. 8 is a ERNEST J.lSWEE'.`|lIl'.|AI\`.l'D, OF IVIONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

PACKING AND THE LIKE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 19117.

Application led January 20, 1916. Serial No. 73,130.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be itknown that I, ERNEST J. SWEETLAND, a citizen of the United States,residing in the town of Montclair, county of Essex, and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Packing andthe like, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new article of manufacture, which isespecially adapted for use as a packing in connection with steam orwater pipes, steam engines, valves, air compressors and in many othersituations which will occur to those skilled in such matters. Such asubstance should first of all be waterproof or be fluid tight, andconsequently, it is desirable that rubber, from the nature of itsqualities, shall enter into the material to a considerable degreebeingcompressible, resilient and waterproof. At the same time rubber whenused alone is liable to an undesirable degree of distortion and has notsuiicient body or resistance against tearing for many purposes. Myinvention therefore contemplates combining with the rubber a suitablefabric to add additional body and strength, without appreciablyinterfering with the valuable qualities which the rubber inherentlypossesses. I have found that a fabric in which one or both of the setsof threads interwoven to form it are composed of bundles of metallicfilaments or fllamental metallic wires is peculiarly well suited forthis purpose.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a plan view of one type of fabric adapted for thesepurposes. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the structure ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of the structure of Fig. 1after it has been flattened under pressure, as by rolling. Fig. f1 is aview similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified form of construction in whichthe bundles of filaments, forming one set of threads, are replaced byindividual wires. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the structureof Fig. 4, showing two sheets or slabs of rubber about to beincorporated therewith. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but showingthe completed structure. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showingdiagrammatically the result of the structurel formed by incorporatingrubber with the metallic fabric in a diagrammatic l view similar to Fig.1 but showing a twill fabric. Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view ofthe structure of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, showingdiagrammatically the appearance of the structure formed by incorporatingrubber with the fabric of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a diagrammaticrepresentation of the fabric obtained by flattening the fabric of Figs.8 and 9 under pressure, as by rolling. Fig. 12 is a diagrammaticrepresentation of the surface appearance of the structure of Fig. 11.Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 10. showing the application of rubberto the fabric of Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2,the numeral 1 designates a filter fabric composed of interwoven warpthreads 2, and weft threads 3, each of which threads may be composed ofa plurality or bundle of fine wires. Each bundle of wires may be formedinto a strand before weaving by giving a slight longitudinal twist tothe strand, five or six turns to the foot being ample for most purposes,or the wires may be conveniently aggregated while lying approximatelyparallel to each other, by the use of soap, wax or other adhesive, whichwill cause the :plurality of wires composing a bundle to cling` togetherduring the process of weaving, but which may be eliminated after theweaving of the fabric is completed by applying heat or a solvent. as thenature of the particular adhesive used may require. However, in manyinstances, I have found the use of either adhesive or twisting to beunnecessary.

In using the word bundle7 in this speciliication and in the appendedclaims I intend it to be considered simply as a convenient term fordescribing a plurality of wires forming a strand, and T do not desire tolimit it to a structure in which the wires or filaments are secured toeach other, either by twisting or any other way, such as the use ofsoap, wax or other adhesive. It will be obvious that the number offilaments-or wires forming a bundle may vary within wide limits as thenature of the specific use to which the fabric is to be applied maydictate, and in some instances the number may be as small as 3 to 5wires to each bundle or strand, while in other, cases it will greatlyexceed this. The dimension of the individual wires may also be variedwithinl appropriate limits. For some ,purposes wires,0.003 of an inch indiameter are found heavy enough, but for average use the size may` beincreased to a considerable degree. Wires of this general nature may becalled filamental wires, and this term is consequently used for brevityand convenience in' this specification and in the appended claims.

The interweaving of sets of threads forming bundles or strands such as Ihave described produces a fiexible, and to a degree, a compressiblefabric, having hundreds of interstices to the square inch, the exactnumber depending, of course, on the number of wires or filaments to thelineal inch.

Subjecting such a fabric toI pressure to flatten it results in theformation of the structure diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 3. Thisfiattening operation may be carried on in a variety of ways, but ispreferably accomplished by rolling the woven fabric between pressurerolls, the distance between which may be adjusted with great precision.For some purposes I find it desirable to form one set of threads ofindividual wires instead of bundles of wires, and this structure isillustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, in which jthe numeral 4f designates thewarp wires, the weft threads 5 being bundles of filaments as before. Ofcourse, if desired, the individual wires may be the weft threads. lRubber may be incorporated with the fab ric by `forcing two sheets orslabs 6 and 7 dition into the fabric, and then vulcanizing the whole.This results in' the production of a unitary sheet 8 of rubber 4in whichthe fabric is embedded, .as clearly shown in Fig. 6. There are a varietyof ways in which the rubber may be incorporated with the fabric, as byapplying rubber to opposite surfaces of the fabric, while the former isin a ver plastic condition, by dipping or i by, in e ect, filteringrubber solution or eX- tremely plastic rubber through the fabric, thusproducing, when the material of Figs. 1 and 2 is used, a structure 9which'is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 7 in which the rubber followsmore closely the contour of the surface of the material, but at the sametime is substantially homogeneous throughoutI the cross-section of thesubstance.

While in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive I have shown a fabric of the so-calledbasket weave, it will be apparent that any other suitable form',y ofweave may be utilized for the purpose as, for instance, the twilldiagrammatically shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Fig. 10 illustratesdiagrammatlcally the effect of applying rubber to this form of fabric.Figs. 11 and 12 show diagrammaticallythe effect of fiattening such afabric under pressure, as by rolling, before the application of therubber, while Fig. 13 shows the result- 'ing rubberized sheet. In somelinstances I find it desirable to apply the rubber to'the unrolledfabric, thus producing an effect like Fig. 10, and then to pass thearticle thus formed through calendering rolls to obtain a materialsimilar to that shown diagrammatically in Fig. 18.

It will be appreciated that the drawings are largely diagrammatic incharacter, and

that in actual construction the parts may be so tightly woven that theinterstices appearing in Figs. 8 and 9 may, to a great extent,disappear, even before the fabric is rolled.

Owing to the thread-like nature of the metallic filaments or wires ofwhich the fabric is composed, hundreds of interstices exist in it persquare inch, and this number may be increased or decreased withinlimitsv 3@ by selecting the desired number of filaments per lineal inch.When the rubber permeates the fabric, it of course passes through itsinterstices and thereby forms a strong bond with the fabric. From itsvery nature the woven fabric which I have described is pliant, flexibleand to some extent compressible, and consequently there is littletendency for it to pull away from the rubber with which it isincorporated no matter 9@ what the strain may be to which the combinedmaterial may be subjected. At the same time the filamental metallicfabric gives to the rubber a strength and resistance against tearingwhich is highly desirable for many purposes. of rubber 1n a plastic orsemi-plastic con- As I have above pointed out there is normally a closebond between the metal fabricand the rubber, but under specialconditions it may be desirable to increase this bond so that it amountsto an actual chemical union between the metallic filaments and therubber. The combining of the rubber with each individual filament inthis man ner, thereby, in effect, making the filamental vfabric a partof the rubber and vice versa,

and conferring ,upon each the useful attributes of the other, may beaccomplished by bonding the filaments and rubber in the manner describedin United States Letters Patent to Daft, Nos. 1,036,576, 1,120,794 and1,120,795.

While I have illustrated and described only certain specific embodimentsof my invention I realize that it is susceptible of wide application,and I do not desire `to be limited to the precise construction shown anddescribed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim i 1. An article ofmanufacture comprising a woven metallic fabric embedded in rubber, saidrubber being secured to the fabric by a chemical bond. 2. An article ofmanufacture comprising a woven fabric, one set of threads of which iscomposed of bundles lof metallic Wires, said fabric being embedded inrubber.

3.'An article of manufacture comprising a woven fabric, one set ofthreads of which is composed of bundles of metallic wires, said fabricbeing flattened under pressure and embedded in rubber.

4. An article of manufacture comprising a woven fabric, one set ofthreads of which is composed of bundles of metallic wires, said fabricbeing flattened under pressure and having rubber incorporated therewiththroughout its mass.

5. An article of manufacture comprising a woven fabric, one set ofthreads of which is composed of bundles of metallic wires, said fabricbeing rolled under pressure after weaving to flatten the same and havingrubber incorporated therewith throughout its mass.

6. An article of manufacture comprising a woven fabric, one set ofthreads of which .is composed of bundles of metallic wires, said fabricbeing elongated under pressure in one direction more than another, afterweaving, as by rolling, and having rubber incorporated therewiththroughout its mass.

7. An article of manufacture comprising a woven fabric, one set ofthreads of which is composed of twisted bundles of metallic wires, saidfabric being elongated under pressure in one direction more thananother, after weaving, as by rolling, and having rubber incorporatedtherewith throughout its mass.

8. An article of manufacture comprising a woven fabric, both the warpand the weft of which include bundles of metallic wires, said fabricbeing flattened under pressure, and having rubber incorporated therewiththroughout its mass.

9. An article of manufacture comprising a woven fabric, the warp and theweft of which include twisted bundles of metallic wires, said fabricbeing flattened under pressure and having rubber incorporated therewiththroughout its mass.

l0. An article of manufacture comprising a closely woven fabricpresenting substantially no interstices, both the warp and the weft ofwhich include bundles of metallic wires, said fabric having rubberincorporated therewith throughout its mass.

1l. An article of manufacture comprising a closely woven fabricpresenting substantially no interstices, both the warp and the weft ofwhich include twisted bundles of metallic wires, said fabric havingrubber incorporated therewith throughout its mass.

E. J. SWEETLAND.

